Senior Electrical Hardware Design Engineer

Space Kinetic is a dual-use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.

*Our vision is unique, and so is the team we’re building. If you’re driven to succeed in this role, even if your background doesn’t fully align with every qualification, we want your application. 

This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space.  

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline. 
• 5+ years of professional electrical engineering experience. 
• Experience designing electrical hardware, circuit cards, schematics, and PCBs for spacecraft, satellites, aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability applications. 
• Experience working on spacecraft hardware or spacecraft electrical systems. 
• Experience with flight systems, flight electronics, avionics, or other mission-critical electrical hardware. 
• Strong understanding of analog and digital circuit design. 
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB design using Altium Designer. 
• Experience owning board-level hardware through design, layout, bring-up, debugging, and testing. 
• Experience selecting components and working with datasheets, reference designs, and supplier documentation. 
• Strong engineering fundamentals and ability to make sound design decisions with incomplete information. 

What We'd Love:

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field. 
• 9+ years of experience designing electronics for spacecraft, satellites, launch vehicles, missile systems, aircraft, defense systems, or other mission-critical hardware. 
• Experience with flight-qualified or flight-intent hardware development. 
• Experience with mixed-signal PCB design, power electronics, motor controllers, sensor interfaces, battery-powered systems, or embedded control hardware. 
• Experience with board-level thermal management, electronics packaging, heat sinking, thermal interfaces, and thermal testing. 
• Experience with high-density PCB design, impedance-controlled routing, grounding strategies, stack-up definition, and signal integrity best practices. 
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC design practices and qualification testing. 
• Experience with environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and vacuum testing. 
• Experience working with PCB fabricators, contract manufacturers, component suppliers, and external test labs. 
• Familiarity with aerospace standards, high-reliability design practices, and configuration-controlled hardware development. 
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder).
• Ability to maintain or obtain a Government Security Clearance. 

What You’ll Bring 

• Strong technical judgment and engineering fundamentals. 
• A hands-on approach to electrical design, debugging, and problem-solving. 
• Deep interest in circuit card design and the details that make electronics reliable in real-world environments. 
• Ability to work across electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, manufacturing, and systems engineering disciplines. 
• Comfort operating in an environment with ambitious schedules, evolving requirements, and challenging technical goals. 
• A practical understanding of how design choices affect manufacturability, testability, reliability, and performance. 
• A desire to see hardware through the full lifecycle — from concept and schematic design to PCB layout, bring-up, qualification, integration, and fielded operation.